The revelation that no fewer than 29 Nigerian languages are critically endangered has underscored the need for the government to evolve urgent pragmatic measures to save them from extinction. The National Librarian and Chief Executive Officer of the National Library of Nigeria (NLN), Prof. Chinwe Anunobi, who revealed this recently, pointed out that two of the 29 languages, Njerep and Ichen, are on the brink of extinction. She made this disclosure at the 2025 International Mother Language Day celebration in Abuja, themed “Silver Jubilee Celebration of International Mother Language Day.”
Anunobi emphasised the critical role of mother tongue in shaping the identity, culture, and development of every nation. In 1999, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) designated the 21st of February every year as a mother language day. Similarly, the UN declared 2022-2032 as an International Decade of Indigenous Languages aimed at preserving and promoting the language heritage of nations of the world. She, therefore, called for concerted efforts to revitalise, promote and preserve the endangered Nigerian languages.
No doubt, Nigeria is one of the most linguistic diverse nations in the world with over 565 native languages. These languages are grouped under three major African language clusters: Niger-Congo, Afroasiatic, and Nilo-Saharan. Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba are the most widely spoken, accounting for over 60 per cent of Nigeria’s indigenous language speakers. These languages also have a fair share of secondary language speakers. Other languages, like Ibibio, Fulfude, Kanuri, Tiv and Urhobo, have a sizeable number of primary speakers.
The other languages in the country are spoken as primary languages by minorities. But every language, no matter the number of speakers, is very important. Though English is Nigeria’s official language, it is less spoken in rural areas among Nigerians with lower education. Nigerian Pidgin English, with over 60 million speakers, is the most widely spoken language in the country and the unofficial lingua franca of Nigeria.
We must endeavour to protect the dying Nigerian languages considering their roles in transmission of culture and civilization. There must be conscious effort to develop all Nigerian languages, especially those under the threat of extinction. A language is a means to express and preserve the cultural values, beliefs, and customs of a people, and the death of a language is a great loss of a nation’s cultural heritage. While languages die due to political, economic, academic, political and economic factors, there must be conscious effort to ensure their survival.
Some languages also die because of these factors. Speakers, who assimilate more prestigious languages, gradually lose communicating in their mother tongue. Migration to other areas also leads to the adoption of the language of the new environment. Natural disasters, climate change and globalisation have also led to the diminishing relevance of some minority languages, whose speakers adopt the common languages used in their new areas. We should also note that languages die as successive generations become bilingual and lose proficiency in their traditional languages.
Nevertheless, the education and culture ministries have a big role to play in ensuring that minority languages are not allowed to die. These languages must be used in education. The government should implement bilingual education programmes instead of concentrating on the major languages alone. We believe that integrating the minority languages into the school curriculum will allow children to learn in both the dominant and minority languages. This will also save them from extinction. Deliberate efforts should be made by the federal government to document the dying languages through recordings and written materials. Archiving these resources will ensure their revitalisation.
At the same time, this will promote cultural awareness and government policies. Fostering an environment where the minority languages are studied will give the speakers more confidence to use them. Government should also create immersion programmes outside of regular school curriculum dedicated learning environments where students are primarily exposed to minority languages and where classes are created for children and adults to re-learn the minority languages.
A deliberate community engagement programme will encourage children to interact and play in these dying languages. Community members should also be encouraged to record stories, songs, and folklore in their native languages. The federal and state governments should develop radio and television programmes in the endangered languages. The ministry of education should conduct detailed studies of dying languages and make effort to develop them. Let government agencies create digital archives of these languages. This will be realised through audio recordings, texts, and videos. Above all, these endangered languages must not be allowed to die.